The limits of resilience

Christchurch has been back in the news recently for all the wrong reasons. First we had the renewed sequence of aftershocks that hit us all from the 23rd of December last year.

One consistent thread that has been running through the public narrative has been the story we like to tell ourselves of a tough and resilient populace soldiering on in the face of all these obstacles. Not exactly cheerful, but coping despite the latest set of knock backs.

Sure, some cracks are beginning to show. The public reaction to the obscene pay rise given to the Christchurch City Council’s chief executive Tony Marryatt, the resulting witch hunt initiated by Mayor Bob Parker. The very public meltdown of our elected city council and the threat of “independent” commissioners, being cases in point.

But overall the message you see in the media is one of rebuilding and renewal, on the way. A reward for all that resilience and toughness that we have displayed.

If resilience is a measure of the amount of strain that can be absorbed before breaking point is reached, Christchurch people are at the limit of their elasticity. Doctor friends have told me quietly about the large volume of antidepressants they’re prescribing and, despite many outlets having closed, alcohol consumption is up across the city. The Problem Gambling Foundation reports that the use of pokie machines has tripled since February’s quake. I’m not surprised by any of this. Some days it’s not easy to find reasons to be cheerful. But to admit that the task ahead seems, at times, overwhelming – that one is not as resilient as one might be – is to admit to personal weakness. That’s what it feels like for many people, anyway.

This article really resonated with me, and I strongly recommend that anyone who is interested in what people in quake effected Christchurch are going through, go and read it.

I suggest anyone interested have a look at “swarm” and “top 100″ to get an idea of the progression of the aftershocks and what might happen next:

1. The worst might be over and the quakes might subside.

Kelvin Berryman of GNS suggested a few weeks ago that there had been a deficit in expected aftershocks, and the December sequence brought that back into line with what was expected. He also thought that the system might be running out of energy. This would obviously be very good news.

2. The quake sequence might move further out to sea.

If you look at the link I gave, you will notice on the map that there is the beginning of what looks like another fault line heading at right angles away from Canterbury. It is right at the tip of the progression of the large quakes. If this is the line of least resistance, then future quakes might move further out to sea, away from Canterbury. This is also reasonably positive. There view of Geotechs is there isn’t a risk of large tsunamis, so that possibility isn’t a major concern.

3. The quake sequence might continue along its linear direction.

That is not such good news because there are some rather large faultlines in that direction capable of producing 7+ magnitude quakes which obviously would not be ideal. A lot depends on whether the quakes to date have been reducing stress on those faults or increasing it. I am not qualified to answer that question. Someone with a bit more expertise in this area might be able to shed some more light on this aspect.

The worry has been that the greendale and port hills faults will join up, creating a very large fault.
Even if that did happen, both faults have relinquished a lot of energy, so even if both did link up doesn’t mean there will suddenly be a huge earthquake.

Anyway, from what I have read, the current thinking is that “the gap” is characterised by a number of smaller faults running perpendicular to the main ones. I Thus, the two main ones can connect is not very high. This area is still under investigation. However, from what is known to date, it seems that the energy is likely to be released in numerous smaller quakes rather than one large one. I certainly wouldn’t preclude some more 5s in that zone, but hopefully 6s and 7s are unlikely over there.

There are a huge number of Christchurch people who are psychologically lost now, suffering from the earthquake equivalent of shell shock, walking wounded amongst us who might look and sound healthy from the outside but inside their marriages, personal lives, businesses, careers are all falling apart.

Of course the stoic narrative of resiliency suits our convenience more than examining things more closely.

The anti-depressants/sleeping pills thing is a well known amongst the Christchurch crowd, and I wonder what the suicide and domestic violence rate is like these days.

“Of course the stoic narrative of resiliency suits our convenience more than examining things more closely.”

I think that this is exactly the point that Lara Strongman is making.

Over Christmas I caught up with friends from out of town on a couple of occasions. Even though the quake on the 23rd had put CHCH back in peoples mind there was still an initial surprise that when doing the inevitable “How’s it going” catchup, it was impossible to describe 2011 as anything but a ratshit year that broke people and left them bleeding.

Also the subtle undercurrent of “Yes it was bad, but surely things are getting better now…” which they are not. You sound like such a whiny ass when you attempt to explain that the events are ongoing, that for most people repair and recovery is still a fanciful dream that is years off. That on top of all the other shit you are dealing with, you have to deal with constant bloody paper shuffling, endless telephone calls to isurance and the EQC, mixed and varying messages about where you stand etc.

Far easier just to drag out some platitudes and shut the damn conversation down as soon as possible.

I am astounded at the insensitivity/stupidity of Marryatt receiving a $68k salary increase and for Parker and his cronies thinking it is a failure of PR rather than a really stupid insensitive thing to do.

It is bad enough this self viewed Atlas thinking he is worth so much. When you add the background provided by the earthquakes and the disasters so many people have had to endure the increase is obscene.

The angst being shown by some Councillors is a bit silly. They need to get on with the job and make sure that at the next election a better mayor and councillors are elected.

There are other issues as well, such as a limited number of properties on the port hills getting 100% rates relief, while people in Avonside struggle to meet a very high bar for 40%.

I think one of the issues is that even for people in the city, there is still a low level of awareness about issues like this. Most of us have our energy focussed on the day to day – (such as constantly ringing the EQC to give them information that they already have, or get them to correct errors we first told them about six months ago).

And it is easy to marginalise the people who are complaining, and pushing back. I heard Nick Smith telling me this morning that “Some new CHCH city councillors did not understand how democracy worked” because they were leaking facts about decisions made behind closed door by the vile cabal that Parker has assembled around himself, to the media.

The irony of this statement has not escaped me.

When did we become a nation of people who would accept a statement like that lying down?

Ok, here’s a positive …. the first to leave after the quakes were the recent English immigrants.

ha ha. sorry. black humuor. of a kind. naughty.

Here are some negatives. The central city is going to be full of empty sites for years. Many owners are taking the money and running. The population, particularly in the east, is down and dropping. The streets are definitely emptier. There is going to be a glut of residential sites around the region, which combined with the central city vacancies is going to cause a substantial drop in values. The red zone burbs are like something out of a movie with tumble weed tumbling. And people are definitely mostly stressed and as the post says the elasticity of people is maxed out.

Further – tsunamis are a far higher risk than most everyone thinks imo. Perhaps not a Japan-style one but most definitely a solid swamping of the east, particularly if the large fault in Pegasus Bay capable of producing a 7+ goes, and more particularly given that NIWA’s post-Feb assessment of low risk was based on mostly the horizontal fault movement of pre-Dec 23 quakes and that the recent Dec 23 quakes just off Brighton are vertical movement. Tried lifting a wide flat plate out of a puddle without upsetting the puddle??

Fuck yeah – negativity.

Hopefully within 1-2 years from now the rubble and half collapsed buildings will finally be cleared, the roads will be smooth, and the city given a scrub clean. Then it will begin to get exciting – love to build a whole city from scatch. But until then ………..

Actually, I think in the case of Tsunami, I would probably BIIKKEE rather than RUUUN. Ifinally gave in over Christmas and bought mountain bikes – my lightweight carbon fibre road bike is not really coping right now.

The chance of a 7+ quake causing a tsunami is so small it is a waste of time worrying about it. The above two posters simply demonstrate the absurd stupidity of some Christchurch residents. I can just imagine the stupid conspiracy theories you two have believed. And while the weak will turn to drugs or alcohol or worry themselves pathetically. Most of us Christchurch people are actually coping fine. Sure our homes may be broken and some people’s homes are fucked. But we’re coping.

“The chance of a 7+ quake causing a tsunami is so small it is a waste of time worrying about it. The above two posters simply demonstrate the absurd stupidity of some Christchurch residents. I can just imagine the stupid conspiracy theories you two have believed”

Oh you’re a clever one aren’t you. Perhaps instead of abuse you could provide some reason, or even amazingly, some evidence, to support your bare-faced hollow statement? Go on. Why do you think the risk of a tsunami is so small? Reasons and evidence, lest you be cast into the pool of fools with the others around here who do nothing but abuse.

Aren’t tsunamis due to massive underwater quakes larger than that experienced in Chch and involving sudden large displacements of submarine land and then water? These are likely to be rare events even now aren’t they? Eg There was a very large submarine quake off Southland last week but no tsunami effect

insider, sure th massive tsunamis are. I have to fly, but jusy quickly… we don’t need a big one to swamp east Chch. NIWA, prior to Dec 23 predicts one up to 2m. Now, if you know east Chch you will realise that the sea level of Pegasus Bay lifting by 2m, particularly at high tide, will cause a massive volume of seawater to pour off the lifted seabed and into these low-lying areas. Shit man, some of the areas are now pretty much at sea level. We can hear seawater sloshing at some ghigh tides in drains around us. Many parts have road gutters which flood simply on a big tide – no rain or nuffink.

The risk is real. It wont take much.

If the tsunami back in Jan 2010 had been at high tide many parts of Chch would have been swamped. It was lucky it was low tide. And that was a 20cm tsunami. NIWA predicts one up to 10x that size.

If there is an issue that people in Chch have blinkers on over it is this one.

Where does Niwa predict a tsunami of 2 metres? Are you sure you’re not mixing up climate change and earthquakes?

Besides for a tsunami to be trigger you need a certain type of shaking. It needs to be deep (deeper than all the Christchurch quakes have been) and they need to be at least a 7.0 but more likely 7.5+.

We’re at far more risk of a deep quake near Chile hitting than we are anything in Pegasus Bay. But you’ve been smoking tea leaves. After all, you’re the idiot that first noticed that pathetic “The government owns fletcher building bullshit” that spread half-way thru last year.

NIWA did presentations post-Feb quakes last year at suburbs in east Chch on specifically tsunami risk. At those presentations is where the 2m risk was outlined. If you had gone you would have heard.

And yes, you do need a certain type of shaking. Not deep. Fuck, idiot, some tsunamis are triggered by undersea landslips, which are on the surface. You need vertical uplift. NIWA, at these presentations sais the reason they assessed the risk of tsunami from locally generated earthquakes as low was because the fault movements had been mostly horizontal, not vertical. But these current faults off Brighton which have sprung into action have been described as vertical, by seismologists.

Further, the Kaiapoi fault has been geophysically mapped, again, after the Feb quakes. You could see the ship at sea, and the chopper doing to airborne surveys. And the results are widely available to the public.

Another thing NIWA said is that you generally need a 7+ magnitude quake. And the seismologists have been very clear that the Kaiapoi fault in Pegasus Bay is the size of the Greendale (which produced the 7 mag in Sept 4 2010) and quite capable of producing a 7+. These are all their facts, not mine.

One more thing for your small brain – you may have noticed that after eacha and every event the seismologists have said things like “we predict that there is a 1 in 4 (or 1 in 10 or 1 in whatever) chance of a further 6.0, 5.0, etc quake” Do you know what? Those chances have come true on every single occasion i.e. it has not been a 1 in 4 chance for example, the reality has been a 1 in 1 chance. Their modelling has not been correct and they openly admit this.

Now put all that together (if you can) and what do you get?

Happy to be proved wrong, but don’t hold out much chance of reasons or facts or evidence coming forward from you, Go on though give it a go.

I would like to know where this Kaiapoi fault exists or is this simply more bullshit from Christchurch idiots who keep reading crap from conspiracy theorists. There is a fault believed to be in Pegasus Bay but the scientists said a tsunami was extremely unlikely. Because the Christchurch quakes have been shallow and for that reason why the intensity is a lot bigger despite how small some of our quakes are. They have not been long enough to trigger a tsunami either.

Here is a quote from the United States Strategic Bombing Survey (USSBS) analysing the impact of bombing on the German population in WW2:

“…As has been seen, armaments production continued to mount till mid-1944, in spite of declining morale, but from that point on, arms production began to decline and dropped every month thereafter at an increasing rate. A minor, but not negligible, portion of this drop was the result of the cumulative effects of lowered morale.
Bombing thus succeeded in lowering psychological morale but its effect upon behaviour was less decisive. The German controls remained relatively untouched, and thus repression and coercion kept an increasingly defeatist population from overt acts of opposition to the conduct of the war…”

Now, I am not saying that the physical impact of the Christchurch earthquakes is comparable to a massed aerial assault. But they might be comparable in the sort of long term psychological stress they subject the target population to. 91% of German civilians reported the stress of the threat of nightly attacks was the most difficult aspect of the whole war. British authorities noted that the attacks by the V-2 intermediate range ballistic missiles, which occurred without air-raid warnings and were random in their timing, profoundly depressed the population in a way conventional air attacks did not. Also, the splitting up of families due to long term evacuation had a profound impact on morale in both the U.K. and Germany. Earthquakes also occur randomly and without warning and can happen at any time, day or night. Christchurch families have also been split up and disrupted by evacuation and loss of housing stock. So to my mind the psychological stress can be directly compared.

In addition, while the impact pf the earthquakes is much less in terms of total damage and loss of life than the bombing offensive on Germany, the New Zealand government also has access to far fewer levers of coercive power to control the population than were available to Nazi Germany’s leaders – so societal and psychological issues will manifest themselves much more readily in NZ in 2011-12 than in a WW2 population subject to repressive government controls.

There is a myth that air attack on civilian populations was a bit of an own goal in WWII, hardening civilian resolve and stiffening morale. In fact, bombing did not stiffen morale in the long run but seriously depressed it. High absenteeism, fatalism, apathy, depression and defeatism were apparent in bombed areas of Germany (and, according to civilian observer surveys, also in those parts of the UK subjected to continuous attack).

The point of all the above is that the myth of the “spirit of the blitz”, of carrying on regardless with a stiff upper lip and steely resolve, is exactly that – a complete myth. Like any population anywhere subjected to random life threatening events that can occur at any time without warning over an extended period, the people of Christchurch are suffering from depression, fatalism, apathy, defeatism and stress. We need to be realistic in recognising this, and realistic in telling our fellow citizens that these feelings are perfectly normal. After all, proper diagnosis is half the cure.

Having spent some time in CHC over the holidays, I think the media, including social media are a reinforcing factor in people’s negative reactions to the quakes.

The Dec 23 quakes caused but minor inconvenience for the vast majority of people (I had to try 3 bottle stores before finding one open, and needed to put stuff back on the shelves at home. That was it). But listening to the media, we had another disaster in progress – we were told to stay off the roads, which were in fact undamaged and no more congested than you’d expect two days before Christmas.

My advice to anyone in Christchurch when a quake happens is to switch off your radio and TV, don’t use the internet and carry on with what you were planning to do with as little adaptation as possible. Remember, more people died last year in road accidents than earthquakes.

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Resident doctors have advised that a severe staffing shortage at North Shore Hospital is putting patients’ lives at risk, Labour’s Health spokesperson Annette King says. “They say a mismatch between staffing levels and patient workloads at North Shore has… ...

Six months’ paid parental leave is back on the agenda and a step closer to reality for Kiwi parents after Labour’s new Member’s Bill was pulled from today’s ballot, the Bill’s sponsor and Labour MP Sue Moroney says. “My Bill… ...

New requirements for sole parents to undertake a reapplication process after a year is likely to mean a large number will face benefit cancellations, but not because they have obtained work, Labour’s Social Development spokesperson Carmel Sepuloni says. “Increasing numbers… ...

Last week the government’s major initiative to combat child poverty (a paltry $25 increase) was exposed for what it is, a lie. The Government, through the Budget this year, claims to be engaging in the child poverty debate, but instead,… ...

The Reserve Bank's decision to cut the Official Cash Rate to 3 per cent shows there is no encore for the so-called 'rock star' economy, says Labour's Finance Spokesperson Grant Robertson. "Today's interest rate cut comes off the back… ...

In my short 33 years on this planet we’ve seen phenomenal technological, economic and social change, and it’s realistic to expect the next 33 will see even more, even faster change. You can see it in the non-descript warehouse near… ...

A Bill that puts the environment squarely into legislation governing the Environmental Protection Authority passed its first reading today, says Meka Whaitiri. “I introduced this member’s bill as the current law doesn’t actually make protecting the environment a goal of… ...

KiwiSaver statistics released today expose John Key's claim that the cutting of the kickstart payment "will not make a blind bit of difference to the number of people who join KiwiSaver” to be duplicitous, says Labour Finance Spokesperson Grant Robertson. “Official… ...

All New Zealanders should be treated fairly at work. Currently, the law allows non-employment relationships to be used to get around the minimum wage. This is unfair, says Labour MP David Parker. “The Minimum Wage (Contractor Remuneration) Amendment Bill, a… ...

The Government’s rubber-stamping of every one of the nearly 400 applications from overseas investors to buy New Zealand farm land over the last three years proves tougher laws are needed, Labour MP Phil Goff says. “In the last term of… ...

John Key must ditch the flag referendum before any more taxpayer money is wasted, Opposition Leader Andrew Little says. “Millions of dollars could be saved if the Prime Minister called a halt to this hugely expensive, and highly unpopular, vanity… ...

Government members have prevented Parliament’s Law and Order select committee from getting answers out of a senior Serco director about the fight clubs being run at Mt Eden prisons, says Labour’s Corrections Spokesperson Kelvin Davis. “At today’s Law and Order… ...

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The stalling of yesterday’s TPPA negotiations in Maui provide light relief for the citizens of New Zealand, but we cannot be complacent in thinking that our Government will not continue on signing our country up to a deal that may… ...

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‘The “final” ministerial meeting on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) in Maui has failed. Not opting to stay another day shows the gridlock is serious and potentially intractable’, according to University of Auckland law professor ...

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The Pharmacy Guild of New Zealand (the Guild) is keen to learn more about how the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) will impact New Zealand’s health sector if it is accepted by the Government. ...

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Social Service Providers Aotearoa (SSPA) is concerned about the potential for a proposed study on new born children to go awry unless the paramountcy principle of commitment to the Care and Protection of Children is upheld. This commitment means that… ...

Responding to the report that Auckland’s Councillors and Mayor Len Brown look set for a 2.3 per cent pay increase, just days after voting to increase the average rates burden by 9.9 per cent, Ratepayers’ Alliance spokesperson, Carmel Claridge, says: ...

Responding to the report that Auckland’s Councillors and Mayor Len Brown look set for a 2.3 per cent pay increase, just days after voting to increase the average rates burden by 9.9 per cent, Ratepayers’ Alliance spokesperson, Carmel Claridge, says: ...

Responding to the report that Auckland’s Councillors and Mayor Len Brown look set for a 2.3 per cent pay increase, just days after voting to increase the average rates burden by 9.9 per cent, Ratepayers’ Alliance spokesperson, Carmel Claridge, says: ...

After 3 years of legal battle the government has now agreed to make full offers to commercial and vacant land owners whose properties were illegally red-zoned. However it decided to single out self-insured homeowners and offers nothing for their homes. ...

Strong response to Draft Transition Recovery Plan The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) has started analysing more than 2500 written comments received on the transition of recovery arrangements in greater Christchurch. The Recovery Plan ...

Heard you were able to get back to your dad’s turangawaewae last week. Mean … hope you had a good catch up with the whanau. I also hear you’re getting ready to endorse the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), and I’m… ...

The family of Lecretia Seales has decided not to appeal the High Court decision in the case of Seales v. Attorney General released to the public by Justice Collins last month on June 5th. Ms Seales passed away several hours… ...

Auckland’s only centre-right Mayoral candidate Stephen Berry says in light of massive rates increases it is inappropriate for the Mayor or any Councillors to be accepting a pay increase. “I propose that until such time as the Council passes a… ...

Predictive risk model in the prevention of child abuse – UNICEF NZ urges caution Research and testing of a predictive risk model to assist in identifying and responding to children at risk of child abuse is important work but must… ...

"Dow AgroSciences, Fonterra and Methanex are three named sponsors of Taranaki Regional Council's Environmental Awards. Their sponsorships makes a total mockery of these awards. This is akin to a weapons manufacturer sponsoring a peace scholarship" ...

Wikileaks has just posted a ‘guidance’ document for TPPA ministers on SOE-related issues ( https://wikileaks.org/tpp-soe-minister/ ). Although dated December 2013, Professor Jane Kelsey, a law professor from the University of Auckland who has monitored ...

With the reference to the latest “Trafficking in Persons” or TIP Report Released this Tuesday by the US Government, ECPAT Child ALERT Trust raises concerns that even though New Zealand may be in the Tier 1 category the report clearly… ...

An Independent Police Conduct Authority report released today has found that Police unlawfully detained two women and three young children following an armed response which developed from the attempted arrest of a male in Mangere on the evening of ...

The National Collective of Independent Women’s Refuges welcomes the announcement of the government family and sexual violence work programme. “I am excited to see this commitment to action from the government and look forward to working alongside ...

At the conclusion of a public request for proposals and selection process, the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives has appointed Oratia Media to publish the fourth edition of the authoritative guide to the conduct of our… ...

At the conclusion of a public request for proposals and selection process, the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives has appointed Oratia Media to publish the fourth edition of the authoritative guide to the conduct of our… ...

‘The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) has given up another secret – unprecedented new restrictions on state-owned enterprises (SOEs)’, says University of Auckland law professor Jane Kelsey who has monitored the SOE negotiations intensively. ...

‘The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) has given up another secret – unprecedented new restrictions on state-owned enterprises (SOEs)’, says University of Auckland law professor Jane Kelsey who has monitored the SOE negotiations intensively. ...

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll. Source: Professor Jane Kelsey. Professor Jane Kelsey. ‘The “final” ministerial meeting on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) in Maui… ...

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll. Statement of Lori Wallach, Director, Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch – Yet Another ‘Final’ TPP Ministerial and Again No Deal; Not… ...

Michael Woodhouse. Image courtesy of TheStandard.org.nz. Analysis by Keith Rankin. This article was also published on TheDailyBlog.co.nz. On Q+A (TVNZ) on 12 July, Michael Woodhouse, Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety discussed ‘Zero-Hour’ labour contracts as a subset… ...

Report by NewsroomPlus.com MGSM Release: Sydney and Melbourne property prices have grown at more than 15 per cent per annum over the last three years, outperforming any other Australian markets and creating a bubble, says Nobel Prize winning economist Professor… ...

Report by NewsroomPlus.comNew Zealanders love their holidays and according to recent data released by Statistics NZ, last month alone 198,800 kiwis took a vacation. For the year ending June 2015, over 2.3 million New Zealanders left New Zealand to… ...

Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards. Dr Bryce Edwards. Should we celebrate the super rich in New Zealand or see their growing wealth as a cause of inequality and division? The publication of the NBR’s latest annual Rich List… ...

This edition of NewsRoom_Digest features 7 resourceful links of the day and the politics pulse from Friday 31st July.NEWSROOM_MONITORTop stories in the current news cycle include the progress of the controversial controversial Health and Safety Reform Bill… ...

Source: Professor Jane Kelsey. Professor Jane Kelsey. A legal challenge to the secrecy of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) negotiations will be launched in the High Court next week.An urgent application for judicial review will challenge Trade… ...

Source:Smokefreerockquest – Nelson Media Agency – Press Release/Statement: Headline: SMOKEFREEROCKQUEST 2015 NATIONAL FINALISTS ANNOUNCEDThe top nine Smokefreerockquest national finalists were announced today, the crème of the 700 bands and solo/duos who entered the nationwide youth music contest this year.Contenders… ...

Report by NewsroomPlus.comContributed by Amanda CarringtonWellington celebrated a milestone last weekend, reaching 150 years as New Zealand’s capital. Thousands of Wellingtonians were enticed to explore the many churches, universities, museums and government buildings the city has to offer. But… ...

Report by NewsroomPlus.comThe speech text below was used by Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully used to open the Open Debate: Peace and security challenges facing Small Island Developing States, at the UN Security Council, July 30, 2015 (New York… ...

This edition of NewsRoom_Digest features 6 resourceful links of the day and the politics pulse from Thursday 30th July.NEWSROOM_MONITORTop stories in the current news cycle include information showing that Social Development Minister Anne Tolley has confined anew… ...

Analysis by Keith Rankin. This article was also published on Scoop.co.nz.On Morning Report on Friday (24 July), I heard the following exchange between Guyon Espiner and Finance Minister, Bill English.Guyon Espiner: “So what’s the good bit about allowing… ...

Source: Scope Media – PERRIAM. Merino sheep being mustered on Bendigo Station overlooking, Lake Dunstan. Luxury merino fashion brand PERRIAM has been selected for a special showcase on wool in fashion at the prestigious New Zealand Fashion Week… ...

…he can do anything he wants….his suit is 100% NASA-engineered teflon & stuff… …so it’s been such an amazing run that el presidente recently decided on a make over and costuming – because he can…because he can do what… ...

Political roundup by Dr Bryce Edwards Dr Bryce Edwards. $100,000 a year to imprison a person is a lot of money. That’s the striking figure at the centre of the current prison scandal and debate, in a country… ...

This edition of NewsRoom_Digest features 5 resourceful links of the day and the politics pulse from Wednesday 29th July.NEWSROOM_MONITORTop stories in the current news cycle include the possibility of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade talks coming… ...

Investigation by Carolyn Skelton.Negative side effects of isotretinoinIn my research of the acne last resort drug, isotretinoin, I came across a couple of issues related to the impact of Big Pharma, Pharmac, and potential impacts of the TPP.… ...

This edition of NewsRoom_Digest features 5 resourceful links of the day and the politics pulse from Tuesday 28th July.NEWSROOM_MONITOR Top stories in the current news cycle include more leaked documents that show the funding of District Health Boards… ...

Analysis by Keith Rankin – This article was also published on Scoop.co.nz.In response to my Money, Flow and Debt (Daily Blog and Evening Report, 25 July 2015) one reader responded to my comments about money hoarding and compensatory debt&hellip; ...

Source: Hot Topic – By Gareth Renowden – Analysis published with permission of Hot-Topic.co.nz Headline: A tale of two hemispheres At the end of June, Professor Jim Renwick of Victoria University gave his inaugural lecture. As you might expect of… ...

This edition of NewsRoom_Digest contains 9 links for the day from Monday 27th July.Top stories in the current news cycle include concerns over a leaked document that reportedly shows the Government plans an overhaul to the governance of… ...

This edition of NewsRoom_Digest contains 9 links for the day from Monday 27th July.Top stories in the current news cycle include concerns over a leaked document that reportedly shows the Government plans an overhaul to the governance of… ...

Source: Asia Pacific Lawyers Network.“Evidence is mounting of increasing numbers of internet romantics and international travellers risking their lives after being deceived, coerced and ultimately exploited by sophisticated international drug cartels,” New Zealand death penalty defence… ...

…exactly when am i a journalist? …the hager case has raised some big issues…is it time to professionalise journalism? …personally i think the hand-writing a tag or a name sticker that says “reporter” is the standard we should… ...

Eyes of Fire (fifth edition) launched Friday July 10, 2015. Opinion piece by Professor David Robie of AUT’s School of Communication Studies – David travelled on board the Rainbow Warrior for 10 weeks before the bombing and wrote the book&hellip; ...

Analysis by Keith Rankin – This article was also published on TheDailyBlog.co.nz.To sort out our intransigent economic problems, ordinary people need to understand how things actually work today and how things do not work. The peasants need to challenge… ...

Report by Alistar Kata – Pacific Media Centre/Pacific Media Watch.AUCKLAND (Pacific Media Watch): Most audiences are used to seeing Wairere Tame Iti as the Māori activist, who most notably shot the Australian flag at a 2005 Waitangi Tribunal… ...

This edition of NewsRoom_Digest contains 8 media release snippets and 4 links for the day of Friday 24th July.Top stories in the current news cycle include more concerns about effects of the Government’s tougher welfare policy and the… ...

Report by NewsroomPlus.com – Contributed by Olexander BarnesWellington is the city where the vampire film “What we do in the Shadows” takes place, but there are more dangers on our streets than just vampires. Living Streets Aotearoa and the Urban Design… ...

Report by NewsroomPlus.comIt may be a fact of the news cycle that Thursday night’s release of research focused on asthma health literacy for Māori children in New Zealand – He Māramatanga Huangō – wasn’t destined to make the 6pm bulletin.… ...

Report by NewsroomPlus.comContributed by Amanda CarringtonNew research from a Victoria University professor shows a longer parole period will decrease the risk of prisoners reoffending. Psychology professor Devon Polaschek’s work Surviving the first year explores how prisoners who are… ...

Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup – The Housing apartheid problem Dr Bryce Edwards. There’s a social divide opening up in New Zealand cities, especially Auckland, over home ownership. But is the division about race or wealth? And what can… ...

Containing the impacts in NZ: Acne and isotretinoin IIIInvestigation by Carolyn Skelton.In my previous pieces I addressed problems with acne and a last resort anti-acne drug (isotretinoin); a drug which has tended towards being overused and under-regulated. Many… ...

Source: Royal New Zealand Ballet A magical world premiere from the RNZB – The Vodafone Season of A Midsummer Night’s DreamIn an unprecedented artistic coup the Royal New Zealand Ballet has commissioned one of the world’s most sought after choreographers… ...

This edition of NewsRoom_Digest contains 8 media release snippets and 5 links for the day of Thursday 23rd July.Top stories in the current news cycle include a report from ACClaim Otago, a support group for injured people that… ...

Report by NewsroomPlus.comContributed by Olexander BarnesDebates on issues like euthanasia deserve the widest possible audience. It was fitting then that the lecture hall in the Otago campus next to Wellington hospital was packed full of people, all eager to… ...

Source: Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand New Civil Aviation Rules for unmanned aircraft coming into force next week will improve aviation safety for operators, other airspace users and people and property. Civil Aviation Rule Part 102… ...

Source:Reserve Bank of New Zealand Reserve Bank Governor Graeme Wheeler announced this morning that the Reserve Bank has reduced the Official Cash Rate (OCR) by 25 basis points to 3.0 percent.Graeme Wheeler said the global economic growth remains moderate,… ...

Peter Godfrey and Selwyn Manning. Selwyn Manning and Australian radio station FiveAA’s Peter Godfrey deliver their weekly bulletin, Across The Ditch. This week New Zealand’s Corrections Minister Sam Lotu-Inga under pressure to resign after scandalous and tragic… ...

This edition of NewsRoom_Digest contains 8 media release snippets and 4 links for the day of Tuesday 22nd July.Top stories in the current news cycle include Parliament unanimously passing legislation to fix a legal loophole that would have… ...

From The Virtual Desk of Ant Timpson. It all started with a synopsis and a poster submitted to a film competition. From 500 submissions, one winner emerged victorious. The filmmaker’s name was Jason Lei Howden and his winning idea was… ...